The role of design in policy making is an area of growing interest here in New Zealand and overseas. It something the Co-design Lab has been exploring with partners in local and central government over the past 12 months.

In November 2018, over 70 people from across government came together in Wellington for a 1 day seminar and workshop hosted by the Policy Project in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

In late May, over 60 central and local government policymakers came together in Auckland for a two day ‘Policy by Design’ symposium exploring the role of co-design and design in policy development.

The aim of the two days was to explore how design-led approaches have the potential to make the policy process more accessible to the people most affected by it, to develop policy that is more responsive to their needs and experiences, and to create a stronger feedback loop between policy and its impact on the ground.